Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a feeding device and an image forming device.
Description of the Related Art
Image forming devices such as a printer and a copying machine are provided with a feeding device that includes a feeding cassette and a feed roller that feeds a sheet contained in the feeding cassette. The feed roller is formed of a fiction material such as rubber, and when feeding the sheet, the feed roller abuts against the sheet and rotates to feed the sheet contained in the feeding cassette to an image forming portion.
In the feeding device having such a configuration, when the rubber of the feed roller becomes deteriorated due to wear and the like, deterioration in the feeding performance may disadvantageously occur. Accordingly, feeding devices in which, in order to enable the feed roller to be replaced, a feed roller is made detachable from a main body of the device are known (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-256287 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-269696).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-256287 describes a configuration which, in order to facilitate replacement work of a feed roller, enables the feed roller to be replaced by sliding the feed roller in the axial direction. Furthermore, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-286594 describes a configuration provided with a lock member capable of being moved between a lock position where the feed roller is restricted from being detached and a permissive position where the feed roller is permitted to be detached.
Note that the replacement of the feed roller is performed while in a state in which the feeding cassette is drawn out.
Furthermore Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-269696 discloses a case in which the feed roller is restricted from being detached by a height restriction member that prevents over-stacking. Furthermore, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-269696 discloses a case in which the height restriction member moves between a restrictive position and a retreat position while being interlocked with the attaching and detaching operation of the cassette.
However, in the configuration described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-256287, the feed roller may disadvantageously come off from the main body of the device while in a state in which the feeding cassette is inserted into the main body of the device. Specifically, during transportation of the device and during jam recovery, due to an unexpected force applied to the roller, disadvantageously, the feed roller may be slid and come off from the main body of the device.
Meanwhile, the configuration described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-286594 includes a lock member; accordingly, there is little possibility of the feed roller coming off during transportation and jam recovery. However, when replacing the feed roller, the user needs to move the lock member from the lock position to the lock release position; accordingly, work when replacing the feed roller is disadvantageously increased.
Furthermore, in the configuration described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-269696, the height restriction member needs to be moved between the restrictive position and the retreat position, thus, leading to complication of the configuration in some cases.